Business Brief

By Staff | March 27, 2014

BTEC elects board members The Biomass Thermal Energy Council has elected five new directors and reelected two directors to its 2014 board of directors. New directors include Dennis Becker, associate professor of environment and natural resource policy at the University of Minnesota; Marcus Kauffman, biomass resource specialist at the Oregon Department of Forestry; Michael Larrimore, business development representative at Cambridge EntTech; Paul Lewandowski, business development specialist at AFS Energy Systems; and Jay Van Roekel, biomass business unit manager at Vermeer. Reelected directors include Dan Arnett, biomass coordinator at Ernst Conservation Seeds and David Dungate, president of Bioenergy Project Partners.

Baker Tilly attorney appointed to WBCBaker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP has announced Thomas Unke, team leader of the energy and utilities practice, was appointed to the Wisconsin Bioenergy Council, which advises the state’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection on practices for sustainable biomass and bioenergy production.

German Pellets earns ENplus certification German Pellets facility in Woodville, Texas, has received ENplus certification. The certification confirms the high quality of the products from the facility, which commenced operations in mid-2013. The plant has the capacity to produce 578,000 metric tons of wood pellets on an annual basis.

CBI supplies equipment to Rentech Continental Biomass Industries Inc. is designing and building three debarking and chipping sytems for Rentech’s Canadian wood pellet facilities, scheduled for installation in the spring. The CBI systems will deliver uniform 6 to 8 millimeter microchips in a single pass that can immediately be dried and milled into pellet feedstock.

Viridis appoints chairman Viridis Energy Inc. has announced that Robert Aaron has been appointed chairman of its board of directors. He currently serves as CEO of Gilwern Associates, an advisor to Viridis Energy’s largest shareholder, Cornwall Investments LLC. Aaron also serves as vice-chairman of HedgeServ Corp. and vice-chairman of Investor Analytics LLC.

Vermont Wood Pellet makes leadership change Vermont Wood Pellet Co. has announced that co-founder and CEO Chris Brooks will be stepping into the dual role of president and CEO. Brooks’ co-founder Katie Ewald Adams will move into a more strategic role as chief marketing officer. Adams will remain active in promoting the VWP brand. When VWP prepared to open its facility in 2009, the two partners set a goal to produce 10,000 tons of wood pellets per year. Now in the fourth year of operation, they have nearly doubled that goal and are exploring the construction of a second mill.

ACORE appoints CEO The American Council on Renewable Energy has appointed Michael Brower as president and CEO. Brower has served as the interim president and CEO since July. He has been an ACORE member since 2002, is a member of the board of directors and is a long-time leadership council member. He most recently served as senior federal policy director at Mosaic Federal Affairs, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hiscock and Barclay LLP. He is a retired career Navy Officer and aviator who has served in the Secretary of Navy’s personal office as special assistant for air warfare communicating United States Navy legislative policy to the Congress for three Secretaries of the Navy.

Puritan Magnetics announces productPuritan Magnetics Inc. has announced the availability of its vertical spout magnets, which are engineered to remove fine-to-large ferrous contaminants from high volume, gravity fed product streams. They are ideally suited for products that would bridge or choke in a magnetic tube-type separator.

Biomass energy quick assessment tool now availableThe New York Farm Viability Institute and the New York Biomass Energy Alliance have announced the availability of the Local Impact of Woody Biomass Energy Projects Quick Assessment Tool for Planners and Community Leaders (QAT). The QAT is available in both full and lite versions.